What's A Guy Got To Do?
by kohana28
Summary: Sequel to Nosy Shinobies Spying on their very own crushes? Been there, done that! Now the girls are infuriated...what should the four unfortunate boys do? Sasusaku Naruhina Nejiten Shikaino
1. Troublesome Mission Began

What's a Guy Got to do??

By: kohana28

A/N: Neh, minna-san! Gomenasai for the super late update okay? I'll make it up to you guys! Yakusoku!

ja

Disclaimer: How could I possibly own Naruto??

Chapter 1: Troublesome Mission Began

The sun has barely risen through the light blue sky when Uchiha Sasuke stepped out from his humble abode.

The young man walked away from his house with his backpack slung casually on his shoulder containing several things he needed for his daily morning training. His water jug, along with his towel and extra shirt has been placed carefully inside the blue back pack.

Upon arriving in his usual training grounds, he settled his back pack against an old cherry tree and made his way in the center of the clearing.

From where he was standing, you could hear clearly the sound of the rushing stream not far away mixed with the soft rustling of wind and chirping of birds.

Under normal circumstances, this would have calmed the Uchiha prodigy a great deal since he usually goes here to soothe his nightmares at sleep. But his problem now is nowhere near the conflicts he was feeling before.

And the worst part is, he himself knew that it was his own fault it occurred in the first place. And it took him years to figure out why his heart was beating so fast when _she _was near…

'_Darn it all!'_

He angrily punched the dummy in front of him which force that it was practically destroyed.

Why his head felt slightly dizzy when _she_ smiles…

'_Why did this have to happen?'_

Concentrating his chakra on his palms, electricity suddenly began to cackle and form as his brows furrowed in concentration.

_Chi…_

And after those years he wasted on plotting his pointless revenge for his brother, he finally succeeded.

_...do…_

He should be happy right? He was victorious! He got what he wants! But then…

…ri!

Pieces of wood flew everywhere once his palm connected with the tree's trunk. Sasuke gritted his teeth not because of the pain he felt when on a particularly sharp piece had stabbed his hand…

… because of the realization he had been denying for the past years.

He loved _her_.

He knew, the moment he saw her when he was brought back to the village in stretchers. He can still remember her tear strained face so well. The face he had longed to touch ever since his feet lead him to the sound territory.

Although, thankfully that time, her face was in tears of happiness, of joy. It was easily seen on her flushed face.

He had always thought she shows too much emotion on her face…

Breathing heavily, Sasuke decided to take a short break as he strolled to the cherry blossom tree. He sat and opened the bottle of water he brought and drank all of its contents all at once.

I hate myself.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Damn you Kakashi! Where in the world are you? I'm gonna rip you into shreds when I see your perverted masked face! And how --- "The insults and empty threats ensued from the self - proclaimed hokage, with spits flying directly out from his loud mouth.

His voice rang through the forest, disturbing several animals resting nearby and causing them to flee as far away as possible.

Under normal circumstances, Naruto would have been long dead by now through the hands of his raven haired rival had it not been for the trouble he was currently in.

'_Eight a.m. sharp, and DON'T BE LATE!'_

Hadn't Kakashi told them that yesterday, over a steaming bowl of miso ramen and ever so seriously too that he almost fell off his chair?

Naruto, baffled as ever, finally stopped shouting and let himself fall to the soft green grass.

The rustling of leaves and the streaming river about 100 meters away from their positions reached Naruto's ears. Being the Kyuubi vessel, his senses improved greatly as time passed by while amidst learning how to control the nine tails' chakra, more and more.

Blades of grass tickled his whickered face as he looked up in the blue sky, the sun shining up above.

He smiled his usual foxy smile as he saw a fluffy shaped formed by the clods and instantly remembered the most delicious one he had ever tasted.

'_Happy Birthday Naruto-kun!'_

It had been a birthday present from the Hyuuga heiress, Hinata which she gave him before fainting in his arms during his party organized by Sakura.

"Neh, speaking of Sakura-chan……" he whispered as he glanced at his brooding teammate leaning against an old tree.

Somehow, Naruto thought, he looked more agitated and unfocussed these past few days. And if this is one thing that this blonde boy had noticed, we all know it had to be a pretty serious one since he doesn't usually notice things around him that clearly.

"And you dare call me gay …dobe!"

…………

"Should we stop them?" Calm, baritone voice interrupted Shikamaru from his peaceful cloud viewing…not that it hadn't been disturbed with all the noise Naruto was making, shouting at his fuming teammate like that.

"Shut up teme! At least I _like_ a GIRL! And what about you? Rejecting Sakura-chan every chance you got! I'm starting to think you like that Oro-bastard better than her!!"

The notorious lazy genius sighed deeply as he looked over the two rivals, both looking ready for some bloodshed.

"I don't think so," Shikamaru yawned as he stretched lightly and returned to his cloud watching.

"Remember the last time we stopped them? No. it's better to stay out of their madness. They'll soon get tired anyway."

"I quite agree." Neji said as he shifted slightly in his usual meditating position. He had been trying to use his time productively while waiting for their sensei to _come out_ although in vain.

Who could ever meditate with so many distractions anyway?

And he didn't mean the argument between the unspoken best friends but something else…

"_You're throwing it the wrong way!"_

"_Really? But look! It made a dent see? And it means impact right? It means ---"_

"—_you have not hit the target." A boy, about the age of ten with pearly white orbs stated as hr calmly looked at his brown haired friend._

_Big, fat tears slowly filled the girl's brown eye although she tried her best to stop them falling. The boy watched as he stared at his friend's face drained of happiness she was obviously feeling a while ago._

"_Come Tenten." He said gesturing to the confused girl and picking up a rock._

"_W-where, Neji?" She inquired as she cocked her head to the side._

"_I'll show you the right way." The byakugan user said stoically, his back facing his friend._

"_Really Neji?" Tenten said, her brown eyes widened, already forgetting her failure a while ago._

"_Hn."_

Neji sighed deeply, sensing another migraine coming. How he wished things were like back then. They were simpler and yet he was perfectly happy. With the exception of course of the new techniques he had recently learned.

But that was not the point.

The thing was Tenten has been a tad unusual these past few days. She had been really shifty, avoiding his gaze and presence like plague. Although, considering the past few unfortunate events, he had to admit that his sparring partner's reaction would have to be expected.

Neji finally opened his eyes and saw the two male members of team Kakashi at each other's throats, his genius mind full of mind boggling questions of regret and incredulity.

'_Why did he have to agree to Naruto's stupid plan anyway?'_

'_Why did he have to feel hurt every time she avoids him?'_

'_And most importantly, can he cope with it?'_

"Dobe, I'm warning you!" Sasuke said in a dangerous tone, venom practically dropping in every word as he railed a shaking fist towards the blonde's direction.

Unfortunately, Naruto heed no danger signs as he rambled on and on.

'_This is so troublesome.'_

Shikamaru observed the drifting clouds in the blue sky as he pointedly ignored the bickering idiots arguing not so far away from him.

'I wish I could be as peaceful as the clouds. My life would have been less troublesome.'

He mused as he stared into the clear blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds.

'_Come on Shika-kun, help me with some flowers!'_

It has been a long while since he last accompanied Ino in the fields to look at some flowers. Or he had rather been …dragged.

'_Shika-kun…'_

He couldn't complain. It would have been troublesome if he struggled and tried to reason with her. She was such an impossible troublesome woman.

'_Shika-kun……!'_

And anyway, the view of the clouds there were pretty nice, with the wind blowing. He really couldn't complain, even though it hurts a bit.

'_**SHIKAMARU YOU LAZY ASS! HELP ME WITH THE FLOWERS! NOW!!'**_

Heck, all geniuses in the world know about the simple principal rule of life:

The truth hurts.

Whether it was portrayed as physically….

… or emotionally.

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, which he admits he knew that this is a matter not to be taken lightly.

His two male students were having their "best friend bonding", although in a roughly violent manner, he thought that this could greatly help his future plans for them.

Just thinking about it made his eyes shine (or eye in this case) as he remembered the meeting the jounin instructors of the rookie nine had nearly a week ago.

"_So, what is this meeting about?" Kakashi asked as he quietly surveyed the small room. All the jounin teachers were there. He wondered what was going on._

"_Nice of you to show up Kakashi. What took you so long…AGAIN?" The blond haired hokage asked the masked man, her hazel eyes flashing dangerously._

"_Well, I was –"Before Kakashi was able to stammer up a suitable excuse, one angry hokage was too hard to handle, she pounded a fist on her table cutting him off._

_Empty sake bottles rattled at the paper loaded table as she did this. _

"_I want a detailed report on your student's…" Kakashi answered first, deciding that the sooner he was out of here, the more reading was to be done._

"_Well, Sasuke and Naruto had been improving greatly as well as Sakura although –"His bored voice trailed off as he failed to hear, or refused to anyway, he next few words their hokage had uttered._

"…_love lives."_

And was he ever shocked when he had heard that?

Asuma actually dropped his cigar that he had intended to light that moment just as well as with his beloved book. Now, Gai's reaction was most predictable and not to mention dramatic.

"But this is marvelous Tsunade-sama! This only shows that the spring of youth prevails even in adults! I can see now my young Lee…."

Gai's speech had been much longer and much more dramatic but on that particular moment, he had been busy gaping at the fifth hokage.

And you could blame neither of them. Where would you find a hokage with loads of work stacked up so high not only her apprentice's love life (not that she had any right in the first place) as well as the others no less?

He presumed she only did it to pass time.

Now that he thinks about it, maybe she did!

Kakashi shrugged as his already disheveled hair was raffled by the wind. He sighed and returned once again to his all time favorite novel.

He could still hear Naruto shouting his head off and you could practically feel the air around them change. You don't even need to look to know who he was fighting with. The feeling of murder intent was in the air and only one person can emit such vibes…

"Hmmmm….only a couple of hours?" The Icha Icha paradise lover murmured and hid his beloved book in his pant's pocket.

He had made them wait for almost two hours (which was such a shame really...) and devoted that time to read the new version of ICHA ICHA PARADISE VOL 143! It was a very rare and special issue you see, given to him by Jiraiya…with a hundred yen too!

He sighed as he decided it was high time to show himself now. He jumped from his hiding place, the tallest fir tree in that area and landed in between the two fuming boys just as they were about to punch each other.

Now, he wouldn't want his students to go on and kill each other before his plan works now would he?

His mind went instantly awry as he heard Naruto's voice ringing through his steaming ears.

"We all know that you had long lost Sakura-chan's love! And it's your entire fault! So don't get all bastard-y and snap at as every time we say it!"

His words stung him.

Red hot anger ran through his proud Uchiha veins as he frustratingly tried to control his temper.

He knew it was the truth. The dreaded truth he had been denying ever since he got back.

In a blink of an eye, he found himself in front of the shocked blonde boy, ready to strike.

"SHUT UP!!!!"

With all his anger clouding his mind, he didn't noticed their jounin sensei standing in between them with his hands clamped tightly on each of their hot heads.

"Tsk.Tsk. Really, you two. Teammates fighting in front of other people! People would think I haven't taught you anything!"

"Well, if you'd arrived earlier you would have taught us _something_!"

Kakashi ignored this, although he did released Naruto's collar quite suddenly.

"Hey what was that for??"

"So you finally showed up huh? You sure took your sweet time reading that filthy book of yours in that stupid tree!" The Uchiha prodigy said indifferently as he composed himself.

Neji rose to his feet hearing the hubbub between the teammates. Shikamaru followed suit.

"Really guys? You knew I was there all along? How come you never attacked me or something?" Kakashi said as he scratched his head.

"It would have been troublesome." Shikamaru replied, suppressing a huge yawn.

"Hn."

"I knew that!" Naruto suddenly butted in.

"Right. So that's why you were shouting your head off a while ago, to make him come out of his hiding spot." Sasuke said calmly.

"Y-yes! You got that right!" Naruto replied immediately.

"You're pathetic!"

"What did you say bastard?!"

"Now, now didn't I say calm down already? I've got a mission for you!" Kakashi announced suddenly.

"Really!" An interested Naruto piped up suddenly forgetting about their earlier disagreement.

"Really, Really!" Kakashi chuckled lightly.

A/N: Hmmm…I honestly feel crappy about this chapter…but don't worry I'll definitely do better next time!!!!

R & R

Ja


	2. Huh! Rank Training

What's a Guy Got to Do?

By: kohana28

Chapter 2: Huh??!! Rank Training

Kakashi looked at the faces of the four shinobies in front of him, waiting for some kind of reaction as he let the weight of his words a while ago slowly sink in.

One was serious, with slight crinkle in his brows and beside him wore a painfully bored expression (as always) while the other one just look annoyed.

"So…what is it sensei????" Naruto happily bounded by him, his cerulean eyes wild with excitement as he looked expectantly at the jounin instructor,

It was a usual reaction you would expect from an….

"Idiot." Sasuke huffed, clearly showing that he had not, in any way, forgotten their little spat a while ago.

"Now, now, Sasuke play nice okay? Now where was I?????" Kakashi intercepted before Naruto even got the chance to retort. As he ignored the heavy glare that was placed upon him, he pondered on how he was going to introduce the first phase of their plan on them, without arousing suspicions of course.

"_You have to be very subtle Kakashi, or else our plan might not work!" Kurenai said, her red eyes flashing at him. _

Kurenai's right. He was talking to top ninjas of Konoha here! Now Naruto was a different case…

"The mission sensei! What is it???" Naruto was only too happy to interrupt his thoughts and supply the "forgotten" information.

"Ahh..yes. Now this is an important mission. Tsunade-sama had specifically asked for the four of you and others as well."

The copy-nin roamed his gaze around as if to make sure that all of them are listening well. Already, he could see doubt in the shinobies eyes.

"Wait a second. What 'others' are we talking about here?" Neji calmly asked.

And Kakashi being … well… Kakashi was prepared for this.

"Well, the other shinobies assigned to this mission too of course."

"You mean there are more ninjas assigned to this mission. Whoa! Tsunade-baachan really is serious huh? Is this mission that hard for us four not to make it?" Naruto scratched his blonde head in confusion just as Sasuke spoke.

"Even though I'd rather commit suicide than admit this, the dobe actually has a point." Sasuke said in cool manner although through clenched teeth.

"How troublesome."

"And where are these people you are talking about, sensei?" Neji inquired politely while Naruto did a little victory dance in the background!

"Sasuke-bastard did it!!!!!"

Kakashi smirked, which was naturally not seen as his mask was covering most of his face but his eye showed it all. The gleam was just too bright to be unnoticed.

"He finally accepted that I, Uzumaki Naruto, am right about everything!"

Well, the three of them anyway. Shikamaru raised eyebrows at the white haired man before them, silently questioning his statement earlier.

"Shut up you idiot! I never said that!"

"You see, this _special_ mission assigned to you is actually a training ground for you to improve on your teamwork."

"Che. If only the dobe here would listen to instructions carefully and NOT get tripped over something like a twig which would reveal our hidden position, everything's fine."

"What did you say bastard!??" Naruto shouted, snapping put from his smug look a while ago.

"See what I meant?" Kakashi said as he held the two arguing shinobies by their collars, effectively separating and stopping them from what would be their usual childish brawl.

'Again?' Neji thought, as he tiredly gazed at the trio in a position they were in just a few moments ago.

"How troublesome."

"If you do not have cooperation, even though how strategic your plans will be, if one member does not cooperate, then there's a large possibility that you'll fail any mission"

"So, tell us about this 'special training' already." Sasuke interjected warily as he released himself from their sensei's hold, glaring darkly at him.

'I'm wasting my time here.'

'Ah, and I thought this would be difficult.'

"It's settled then! Well, all you have to do is survive in the forest of death!" The so-called one-eyed-pervert said enthusiastically.

"And?" Sasuke said.

"Hm, always the sharp one aren't you? You will be required to find certain things inside the forest itself which we, your jounin instructors will personally hide."

"Hokage-sama really is spending much too time on this huh?" Neji said lightly. "I wonder why?" he continued.

"I agree. Wasn't there some kind of disturbance in our neighboring village? Shouldn't we help them? They are OUR allies after all? Diplomacy is important these days." Sasuke pointed out, sniffing out a suspicious, hidden intention behind this sudden training.

Apparently, Neji thinks so too as he nodded his head in agreement.

'Uh-oh, they're starting to suspect. Must think of something.'

"Well?" Shikamaru, Neji, Sasuke and even Naruto stared at him.

An extremely long silence engulfed them as the four shinobies stared unflinchingly at their slowly shrinking sensei who was desperately thinking of a nice excuse.

Finally, after a long while, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore as he shifted his gaze, intending to go ahead and train by himself to mull important things over.

Important things being….

'Sakura…..'

"Hn. I'm going." As he was just about to turn around and walk away, he heard someone chuckle. A fine eyebrow rose on his usually expressionless pale face as he turned, yet again to face his chuckling sensei.

"Yes? Kakashi-sensei, you want to tell us something?" Sasuke said coldly.

"_A nice advice too, use their egos. It always works on men…" Kurenai said._

'Hm, I wonder what she really meant by that.' Kakashi thought as an idea popped into his head.

'Aha!'

"I'm not really supposed to say this but this is actually a rank test on all the top young shinobies chosen by Hokage-sama herself, which includes other four people excluding you. It's like a way of finding out who's the strongest, youngest shinobi in Leaf country.

It took all of Kakashi's willpower just to stop himself from doing a little victory dance at his triumph. You could easily tell by their looks that they are slowly being convinced by the idea.

'Ha! This is my chance to prove to that teme that I'm better than him! Nyahahaaha!' Naruto thought gleefully as he rubbed his hands together, his whiskered face twisted with his blue eyes containing an evil gleam.

"Hn. In your wildest dreams…dobe." Sasuke suddenly said as Naruto jerked from his daydream.

"What did you say teme?! And are you some psychic bastard that can read through minds?" The kyuubi-container accused, jerking a finger at his rival.

Sasuke smirked as he looked at him. "You never know."

"Well, we always know that you two can fight for second place." Neji said, interrupting the two's argument.

"And what's that supposed to mean, Hyuuga." Sasuke spat, pure venom in his voice.

"Hn. We'll have to see, don't we Uchiha?" Neji smirked at the fuming lad.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru yawned as he stretched his arms. 'There goes my _rest_.'

"Yeah, you're going to see it from second place Hyuuga." The raven-haired lad mirrored his smirked, his clenched fists hidden in his pockets.

"Hey, what about me??" The blonde boy waved his hands above his head frantically, trying to get their attention.

"Only, there's one condition!" Kakashi said, successfully interrupting the glaring match between the two boys, who snapped their heads at him.

"What condition?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you've got to do it with a partner. The tasks, I mean. This is about teamwork still, after all." He explained to them, already fishing out his Icha Icha Paradise from his back pocket.

"Hn. Then, I certainly don't want to be paired with his idiot here." Sasuke said immediately jerking his hand over the hissing blonde.

"Like I want to be paired with you!"

"And there they go again!" Kakashi scratched his white hair as he looked at the two bickering idiots, one glaring and one yawning.

'This is gonna be one heck of a mission.'

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

R & R

A/N: People, sorry for the late update, I shall try to update now as fast as I can! I mean with our summer vacation nearing….

Yay!

Doumo!

6 6 Kohana28


	3. Surprise, Surprise

**What's A Guy Got to Do?**

By: kohana28

A/N: Doumo Arigatou Gozaimashita for the reviews!

**Chapter 3: Surprise, surprise**

**..::(-)::..**

Uchiha Sasuke jumped from tree to tree as he mulled over the so-called 'training mission' they were about to undergo, rather _currently_ undergoing…once he finds his 'partner' that is.

As he continued on his way, he couldn't help but be, at the _very least_, thankful that the ramen-loving blonde wasn't with him. He was in no mood to tolerate his obnoxious loudness.

'This is stupid.'

It was clearly a waste of time, in his opinion. These times were supposed to be used in far more important things like self-training or eating tomatoes. Speaking of which, he hadn't had any since yesterday He never really considered these _group trainings_ essential to him.

Besides, it certainly looked like there was something far more suspicious and rather smelly behind this _'training mission'_. Just the mere fact that their perverted white haired teacher participated in this, not to mention with the _consent _of the Hokage _herself_ made it all the more ridiculous and down right meaningless. He wondered what that pervert was planning _this time_.

He sped past prairies and meadows, deeper into the forest as the green leaves and twigs soon became blurred images at the corner of his dark eyes while searching for a specific spot he hoped to reach. As he always stayed in the training area of the forest, the rest of its part was a bit unfamiliar to him. This forest is quite vast after all, being one of the largest here in Konoha.

'_Now what was on that piece of paper again?' _Sasuke thought.

_Pink._

Ah, yes how could he forget?

At first, he was rightly confused. What was he supposed to do with just one word? He couldn't even ask the others what they've got since Kakashi had instructed them to separate first before opening the scroll.

But, instead of cursing his damned teacher to hell like he _wanted to_, he sat down to _think _things first. After all, _he_ is an _Uchiha_ and he was taught to think things carefully and rationally.

…

_Sakura._

That was his first thought, and you _can not_ blame him. I mean, how many people with pink hair have you encountered? Honestly. Especially hers was such a bright and vibrant color, very hard to forget. It even smelled of strawberries ---

'_STOP!'_ He needs to _focus_. He could have hit himself hard in the head if only he wasn't sane and besides, it was a weird thing to do. Those things are strictly for idiots only (namely Naruto), and HE is NOT an _idiot. _

After a few more moments of thinking and composing himself internally, he only got _one _solution…

Now if he was in a forest which obviously where their so-called training mission was supposed to be held, and his clue was the word _pink_, then….

He has only one place to go. A spot where there is certainly a color _pink_ to be found…A spot where _cherry blossoms_ are abound.

That's where he's headed. Then what he thought earlier made sense, he reasoned with himself referring to the _first word_ that popped into his mind when he read the word pink.

And as far as his _Uchiha instincts_ could tell, the slight tingle he felt when his eyes first fell upon that four-letter word, this mission was going to be a _troublesome_ one.

**..::(-)::..**

How troublesome.

Shikamaru thought as he stretched lazily on the grass, the alluring scent of flowers around him, filling his senses.

_Blue._

Even though they called him a genius, mind worker, tactician, he still couldn't comprehend what that word meant, or maybe he was just lazy as always as what his teammates (or other people for that matter) say. Whichever it was, he still couldn't seem to place the said word.

There were many possibilities too: the river is blue, many flowers in different parts of the forest are blue, and most importantly, the sky is blue.

Not to mention the fact that he had to consider that he has a partner too, and he thought that somehow this was a clue, not only of their meeting place but of who she was?

Yes, he had long figured it out. Just the way the masked jounin seemed to grope for reasons and answers to their questions were suspicious enough. And the way his eyes… rather eye, gleamed eerily.

He was momentarily reminded of a certain blonde woman, which _coincidentally_ the one he was afraid of and at the same time hoping to get partnered with.

It makes sense too, because _she_ was his _teammate_ after all and it meant that their teamwork won't be a problem anymore. Now, if she could only stop being so darn troublesome…

And so, he had just gone to the place where he constantly thought of it. The word, he meant.

Shikamaru opened his eyes once again to gaze above him.

The skies were in a nice shade of blue again as it usually does whenever he goes to this specific spot. The flowers around him were blooming beautifully, all in different sizes, shapes and colors. It was like a large blanket of some soft material was spread out, in different colors blending in the heat of the sun.

Their fragrance was carried by the wind, along with the small and barely noticeable pollen grains scattering around. It was the most peaceful scene.

On the contrary, at this moment of tranquility he is having, he could only think of _one person._

It was irony at its work, he decided, for he was sure as hell, peace and tranquility didn't suit that particular person he is thinking of right now.

Although one thing did remind him of her as he gazed around the area before stopping up above once again. And he didn't mean _her love of flowers_ either.

It was the skies. The skies he so much loves to watch. Her eyes and the skies, he felt that they somewhat resemble each other, although the peace that the sky held was replaced mostly by fire in her eyes.

He sighed languidly as he put his arms above to serve as a pillow. If this was truly the place he was assigned to and his partner, then he should just wait.

He'll worry about the possibility that he is wrong later…or the _other_ matters.

**..::(-)::.**

_Byakugan._

His powerful eyes scanned the area as he hoped to find some other clues as to what or where or even _who_ is his partner in this mission.

The obvious veins surrounding his white eyes seemed to deepen as a frown slowly made its way on his face.

Actually, he has _some _ideas on who his so-called _partner_ may be and he is pretty sure that Shikamaru knows this little fact too. That sensei of theirs has been a bit subtle; however his obvious nervousness and continued stringing of words (most probably _lies_) gave him away.

'Too bad for _Uchiha_, he was busy bickering with that idiot to notice.' He thought, a smug smirk gracing his lips as he continued to scour the area around him.

Neji relieved his Byakugan and reached for his pocket, pulling out a brown yellowish scroll that each one of them has received a while ago. He unfurled it for the umpteenth time and stared at the solitary word written on it.

_Brown._

"Brown." He muttered quietly as he sighed deeply, feeling a migraine coming up as he rolled the parchment carefully and returned it deep in his pocket.

One word, a color even, was supposed to lead them to their next location so as to start their mission?

Neji thought confusedly feeling a little irritated but as he was very much fond of puzzles and riddles, he found out that he didn't mind them much.

As far as he surmised, the four of them received one word, all colors too, as their clue and that their location has to be somewhat distant with each other. He's still not sure what are they going to do after they have located their own areas but the fact that their 'partners' are supposed to be there to.

"_Once you find your partner, you'll be instructed on what to do next." _

Those have been his exact words to them. So in short, they will not be able to do anything without their respective partners. And by _doing nothing_, he meant _failing_ this so-called _training mission._

And he, Hyuuga Neji, can't simply have that. _'Imagine what Hiashi - sama would say...'_

Now, as was the nature of _Kakashi - sensei_, he's probably planning to pair them up. Those countless tales that Gai - sensei had frighteningly forced them to listen to while resting after a particularly _exhausting_ training, he shuddered to remember.

Not that he's saying that those trainings that the eyebrow-freak (as what Tenten likes to call him) were giving them were hard, there were some limits to being a prodigy after all and after a muscle-numbing exercise, one could do nothing but sit and rest trying to regain their strength, and of course while Gai - sensei _kindly_ offers to entertain them with his ridiculous stories. In the end, not only their bodies would be mashed but as well as their brains.

'Who's going to be _my_ pair anyway?' In truth, that simple question has been bugging him ever since he realized that that idiot of a sensei was going to pair them up.

Although before he could voice out his protest, as _shameful _as it has been, he was momentarily blinded by the chance presented to him of showing his superiority over them, especially to that black haired Uchiha prodigy.

Neji sighed heavily as he rubbed his temples repeatedly as if nurturing a heavy headache.

'Well, there's nothing to it now, I've still got to find my _partner_.' With that thought resolute in his mind, he went off in the direction of the training grounds.

It was the best place he could think of.

**..::(-)::.**

"Where am I?" A certain blonde shinobi thought, looking around, finding only trees after trees in his search. Some rays of the sun came penetrating through the thick branches and abundant leaves of the enormous trees.

He scratched his head as he pulled out a scroll from his orange pockets and examined its contents.

_White._

Kakashi - sensei sure likes to give them hard tasks, he thought as he remembered the initial test Team 7 had to take in order to be taught by him. They had a hard time grasping the concept of that one.

Now, what did that pervert say again?

"_These scrolls will give you clues about your nest destination, and oh, don't open them yet Naruto! Wait until the four of you are properly separated. Be good and no cheating! I'll be watching! Good luck."_

Naruto nodded as he placed his hands below his chin in a thinking pose. He did say that, but that doesn't explain what 'white' means.

'Maybe I have to find a place where you can see a lot of color white? Or maybe, the place's name is white?' Naruto tried to think all of the possibilities that might help him figure out the said riddle.

Nevertheless, he must find out soon or else he'll lose to that Sasuke-teme and not to mention that bastard, Neji.

'_White… white… white.'_

Now what does that remind him of?

'Neji has white eyes…' he thought suddenly, remembering the scowling face of the said Hyuuga prodigy.

"Hinata - chan…." Naruto subconsciously murmured his cerulean eyes widening at his late realization of what he had just uttered. A blush promptly made its way on his tan cheeks as he remembered what happened not too long ago in a lake nearby…

"That's right! I'll look for Hinata - chan and ask her. She's pretty smart so I think she'll be able to help me!" The Kyuubi carrier shouted through the forest as he pumped his fists in the air. Extremely pleased with his decision, he proceeded to look for the girl.

Meanwhile, not far from where Naruto was before, tow ninjas appeared in a puff of smoke. One with his almost all of his face covered with a dark navy blue mask and a cropped white hair while the other, a woman with sharp ruby eyes and shoulder length dark wavy hair.

"I guess that's one way to put it, right Kakashi?" Kurenai said, torn between whether to feel amused or bewildered at the logic of the blond boy. Or rather, _lack_ of thereof.

"Ah, just let him, Kurenai, he'll find a way." He replied half-heartedly as he was reading his favorite book, 'Icha Icha Paradise'. The ruby eyed jounin resisted the urge to kick the white haired man in the shins as she tried to control her flaring temper.

"Weren't _we _supposed to watch over them and make sure that this goes all _according to plan_?" She said. Kakashi just waved his free hand disinterestedly as he continued to read the said novel, which angered Kurenai more.

"Well, there's nothing relatively _interesting_ happening yet, so you can just continue to watch them and ---", He was horribly cut off his sentence as a fist suddenly appeared in front of his face and knocked him off his feet. He landed a few feet from the top of the tree (where he was sitting a while ago) with his beloved book on top of his face.

"Well, then what shall we do next, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked dusting her hands and ignoring the yelp of pain she heard from below. She scanned the area, sensing different chakras from different directions.

"How about helping me up first?" He replied with a grunt as he rubbed his head. He doesn't know which hurts more, his head or his hips.

'_I think I may have broken a bone or two…'_

**..::(-)::.**

**R & R**


End file.
